Accommodation levels in Rio de Janeiro are anticipated to be at full occupancy during the conference. While it is not the responsibility of the United Nations to procure accommodation for the media, it should be noted that the Brazilian national organizing committee for Rio+20 has committed to blocking a minimum of 500 hotel rooms in Rio de Janeiro for media covering the conference. Costs must be covered by the media. For more details, visit: http://www.rio20.gov.br For information regarding room availability please contact: Terramar Travel Agency

Representatives from around the world will be returning to Rio de Janeiro this June ? 20 years after the U.N. Earth Summit ? but this time the focus will be on sustainable development, not climate change, a Brazilian diplomat said Tuesday.

Andre Correa do Lago, who heads the Brazilian delegation negotiating a draft of the outcome document for "Rio plus 20," said that climate change was too sensitive an issue for many countries, while sustainable development was something everybody could get behind.

"Climate change has very strong resistance from sectors that are going to be substantially altered, like the oil industry," Correa do Lago said. "The feeling we have, when we are discussing with such different countries, is that sustainable development is the right answer."

He said the refusal of many U.S. Republican candidates vying to challenge President Barack Obama in this year's elections to even acknowledge global warming was a problem highlighted the difficulty of addressing the issue in an international forum.

While the 1992 Earth Summit focussed the world's attention on the dangers of global warming, this year's conference takes place in a world where economic concerns overshadow almost every other issue.

And while some fear that may doom the conference's chances of having much impact, Correa do Lago says it could also present an opportunity.

"We know we have an environmental crisis, we have a financial crisis, we have a job crisis, we have many crises at the same time now, in some countries many of these crises together and the fact is that sustainable development is the answer to that," Correa do Lago said.

The Earth Summit ended with a great spirit of optimism with representatives from 172 countries, including 108 heads of state or government, signing on to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change.